ACC Roundup - Pitt Loses To NC State, UNC Rolls

In Wednesday’s ACC Action, NC State nipped Pitt 74-73, UNC took out Northeastern 82-62 and the other three games were postponed.

State and Pitt were both teams that were desperate for a win and they battled down to the wire with State maintaining a consistent if thin advantage.

Pitt had a chance to win at the buzzer but Au’diese Toney blew a drive, hitting the side of the backboard and Justin Champagnie couldn’t connect on Pitt’s last chance.

Jeff Capel pointed to the team’s defense as the problem: “There wasn’t anything that was good about our defense when a team shoots 57%. We played a lot of zone because we were in foul trouble in man. They were getting the ball and pounding the basketball inside against us and getting us in a little bit of foul trouble...they were able to get the ball inside and get easy baskets. There was nothing. When a team shoots 57%, you haven’t done anything well defensively.”

Of course Pitt didn’t help itself with technicals. Capel got one, Femi Odukale got one when he pulled Jericole Hellems to the floor and, much to Capel’s irritation, Xavier Johnson got one for woofing at State’s bench. Capel: “Nothing I’ve said has worked. I’ve been telling him for 2 ½ years. Stop talking to the refs. Stop being demonstrative. Nothing we’ve said has worked.”

Pitt hasn’t beaten State since 2014, a surprising stat since State has struggled a fair amount in those seasons.

Pitt is 1-6 in the last seven games and is now just 9-8.

No great surprise that UNC beat Northeastern - it was a mismatch and the Huskies only had a couple of days to prepare.

The big men ran wild - Garrison Brooks had 11 points and 13 boards, Day’Ron Sharpe had 15 and eight, Armando Bacot had nine and eight while Walker Kessler had a solid night with 10 and seven in 12 minutes. That’s 45 points and 36 rebounds between them.

It’s not a big surprise - only one Huskie is over 6-8.

No one plays until Saturday when there’s a full slate of six games scheduled.

ACC Standings

• UNC dominates Northeastern basketball in Tar Heels’ first home game in nearly a month
• UNC basketball schedule facing more change due to COVID-19. Find out who’s next.
• UNC rolls to enjoy return home, braces for what’s next with ACC mess
• Pitt falls to N.C. State, 74-73 — its sixth loss in the past seven games
• Pitt to play Florida State on Saturday after game Sunday against Clemson is postponed
• Pitt mailbag: Will the Panthers only be so good with Jeff Capel as coach?
• Jeff Capel wonders why defense disappeared as Pitt loses for 6th time in 7 games
• Panthers lose heartbreaker to NC State, 74 - 73
• Pitt Falls Short on Last Shot, Loses to NC State 74-73
• It’s time for ice cream: NC State’s Keatts talks about the victory over Pitt
• NC State snaps two-game slide, holds off Pittsburgh for road win
• A storied Tar Heel player is returning to the UNC lineup tonight — just not on the court